Once again, thank you to the
biggest Dave Ferraro fan in the world, Tom R. for providing this
tape to me.

The date was Nov. 29, 1986. The championship match of the '86 Bud
Classic featured two of the most contrasting styles you can have,
Dave Ferraro vs. John Gant. Up until this point, Ferraro had been
on TV only 3 times. His prior time, he lost to Mark Baker 279-278
for the highest losing score on TV, up until that time. The
experience of that probably helped Ferraro this time around, as he
was solid in his victory over Gant, thus capturing his first PBA
title. On a side note, the announcing
team of Jay Randolph and Earl Anthony was one of my favorites for
bowling.

According to Tom R., Ferraro still operates his family's bowling
center in Kingston, NY.

Throughout his respectable bowling career, 27-year-old Dave
Ferraro never before had won a singles championship. But fate took
a fortuitous turn when Ferraro turned back John Gant, 254-221, to
claim the $150,000 Budweiser Classic and its $27,000 first prize.

Ferraro opened with six strikes and never looked back against
Gant, who appeared unbeatable coming off a 277-223 victory against
Ron Palombi Jr. With his victory, Ferraro also qualified for the
1987 Firestone Tournament of Champions.

A third generation bowling proprietor, Ferraro insisted, "The
first win is more important than the money. This gives me new
confidence. I started a little jittery, but the first few strikes
loosened me up,"In the opening game of the NBC
Sports-televised finals, Palombi topped Charlie Tapp, 237-214, and
advanced past rookie Purvis Granger, 190-181, before bowing to
Gant. Gant had qualified for the championship finals for the third
time in four tournaments on the five-city Fall Tour. He also took
the lead in the PBA's coveted high average competition with a
214.66 mark.